Spanish LGBT-rights groups have called for demonstrations today across the country in concert with similar protests worldwide to denounce the ongoing systematic arrest, torture and murder of gay and bisexual men by authorities in the Russian Republic of Chechnya.

Organized by the national LGBT-rights umbrella organization, the Federación Estatal de Lesbianas, Gais, Transexuales y Bisexuales (FELGTB, or National Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Transsexuals and Bisexuals), the protests in Spain are in response to the ongoing persecution of gay and bisexual men in Chechnya over the past month and specifically to the chilling pledge by Chechnyan President Ramzan Kadyrov that he will “eliminate all gay men” in Chechnya by the start of Ramadan, which begins on May 26th this year.

In Madrid, a protest march is scheduled to begin at 1800 hrs (6pm) in the Plaza Pedro Zerolo in the Chueca neighborhood and proceed to the Russian embassy, where protesters will hold a peaceful rally in support of Chechnyan LGBT community. Similar rallies and marches are scheduled to take place in other Spanish cities, including Alicante, Cádiz, Jerez de la Frontera, Córdoba, Huelva, Málaga, Cartagena (Murcia) Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Sevilla, Terrassa (Barcelona) and Vigo (Pontevedra).